Returning to the Green Mountains
By Misha Marston Johnson
3 Nov 2008
What city do you live in? What neighborhood?
Norwich, VT. Population about 4,000.
What are some adjectives that describe your neighborhood?
Rural, farms. But Dartmouth College is only 10 minutes away across the Connecticut River, so there is a very youthful culture, a love of the outdoors, food, and the arts.
How long have you lived there, and what brought you there?
I have spent my entire life here in the same house.
What is your favorite thing about this place? Your least favorite?
Most: I love everything. The kind people, the wonderful food, the great opportunities for being active outdoors, the 4 seasons, the land, the general stores, and the love for every aspect of life that the inhabitants here exude. There is an unmatched quality of life here, and people enjoy it with their own independent spirits.
Least: People who come and build huge houses, cut down trees, and only live there a few months of the year.
Do you feel that you belong there?
Without a doubt.
What is the most common misconception about where you live?
That we are all liberal, hippie environmentalists in Vermont. I may fall into a couple of those categories, but the state is much more diverse than that.
What is a special fact about your city that you have to live there to know?
Norwich University is not in Norwich. It moved to Northfield, Vermont after it burned down many years ago.
What aspect of your city do you secretly love?
It is no secret that I love everything.
Anything else you'd like to add?
I live on an old 10 acre dairy farm. We have a barn and a house from 1790. There is a hole in our basement where people on the Underground Railroad used to hide out. We do not own cows but have always had cows on our field from neighbors. They are very friendly (both the cows and the neighbors).
4 responses
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Laura Brunow Miner said (3 Nov 2008):
Are you going to add text?
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Misha Marston Johnson said (3 Nov 2008):
Sorry about the text. I did add it originally but for some reason it never showed up, so I just added it again.
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Catherine Kurvink said (3 Nov 2008):
I so enjoyed your story and the photos, and I voted yes.
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TrapperMom gave props (8 Jan 2009):
Enjoyed the trip back home. Nicely done.
